The Story of the 'Richly Evergreen'......(Part7)

The Research Starts....

                                        The O P Nayyar’s style of music has been a topic of research for many young musicians and music directors. I must say that his school of music could not expand much though. The reason for this is simply the fact that it was so magnanimous and affluent that it was impossible to emulate it by any new music composer. Let us try to make a list of some of his greatest compositions which are also my personal favorites.

1 

“Hai duniya usiki zamana usika, mohabbat mein jo ho gaya ho kisika” – A song from the movie “Kashmir Ki Kali” penned by S H Bihari and on the screen it was the pained lover boy, Shammi Kapoor. The saxophone is played by father of Ismail Darbar ( the noted music director of Devdas, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam ) and sung passionately by the great Rafi-sahab. When I say passion, I cannot find a more suitable word that describes emotion beyond the level that Rafi transpires through this song! Deep contours and tribulations in the notes, emotions going up and down and words like rugged dead leaves floating over a gush of water is this song as a whole. This unique song is a real feather in the cap of O P and excellently sung by Rafi and enacted by Shammi on the screen. The saxophone is purely magical with a nostalgic feel and it grows on the listener to such an extent that it never leaves from within. Years have passed since the song was first published but the awe and the magic have never subsided. Such is the greatness of O P and his style of music!

2 

“Humko tumhare ishq ne kya kya bana diya…” – A song from the Raj Khosla directed movie ”Ek Musafir Ek Hasina”, starring Joy Mukherjee and Sadhana is another gem of a composition from him. I still remember a small anecdote associated with this song. It was during the time when I heard Mohammad Rafi’s song “Hum bekhudi mein tum ko pukare..” from the film Kaala Pani that I was totally bowled over. That was a S D Burman composition which was present on a cassette given to me by one of my father’s friend who used to be a very good singer of Rafi’s songs and was his ardent admirer. When I told this uncle that I have liked this song very much and I am absolutely in love with it, he asked me to hear another similar gem and that was this particular song pictured on Joy Mukherjee. This song is based on raga “Yaman” and has a somewhat unique orchestration. Before coming into the intricate details of the design and presentation of this song, the first and foremost thing to mention here is that – Nayyar-sahab did not like to venture into classical or semi-classical genre of songs too much normally. His songs nevertheless used to have “harkats” and “taans” but those were intermingled into a basic design which was dominated always by rhythm. Having said that, whenever he did take up semi-classical base for a song, the result used to be a defining experience. This song is just one example of this fact. Rafi’s voice is creamy yet strong, the sophisticated throw of words gels perfectly with the hefty pitch of the notes - all this together creates an unforgettable experience. The words are beautiful to say the least, penned once again by S H Bihari and the harmonium is used as a lead vehicle for the orchestration. Brilliant song which will never suffer from corrosion!
 

[To Be Continued...]